After plenty of research and discussion, you’ve decided that you want your little one to begin preschool within the year. And while you and your little one are excited about this big change, you’re also a little nervous. As much as you try to ignore them, those nagging questions keep on cropping up – are they ready for this? Are you ready for this? Will your child be okay?

We all want our kids to be successful at preschool, do well in their lessons, and meet new goals each day. And when considering the transition, we may worry that they aren’t quite ready for this stage of academic development. But while this is understandable, we believe that there are more important lessons your child must learn before attending the local nursery, things much more important than reciting the alphabet. So, what are they?

What’s more important than academic readiness when preparing for preschool?

Identifying colours won’t help your little one make friends. Counting to 10 won’t make being away from you any easier. Knowing the square root of pi won’t make them feel comfortable in an entirely new environment (if your toddler knows the square root of pi, hats off to them).

But there are skills that will help them navigate this change and get the most out of it – social and life skills, of course! After all, preschool isn’t just about academic development, it’s about growing in confidence and independence, making friends, working out how to function in their society. Knowing how to count won’t ensure that your child goes into their first day feeling confident and excited, and neither will teaching them every social skill under the sun, but it will make them much less nervous and give them the greatest shot at a successful preschool experience.

So, with all of this in mind, what are these readiness skills your little one needs before arriving at preschool?

How do I ready my child for preschool?

Here is a list of skills that will help ready your child for preschool:

How to ask an adult who isn’t a relative for help. Preschool will be full of adults, from teachers to assistants to other parents. And when problems arise, it’s important your child feels comfortable approaching these adults that they only vaguely know. Help your child learn to talk to other adults by modelling this behaviour when you’re out and about, talking to store staff and cashiers and encouraging your kids to do the same!

How to follow multi-step directions. Preschool will be full of multi-step directions – “Put your shoes on and don’t forget your coat. Then join the queue to go outside.” It takes very good listening skills and concentration for a young child to pull all of this off successfully, but practising during gameplay will help them tremendously.

How to ask questions when they need more information. People are much more likely to succeed when they ask questions! Model how to effectively ask questions and regularly think aloud in front of your kids. “Do I need to buy apples?” This will demonstrate the importance of asking questions to get clarification.

How to share and take turns. Preschools don’t have the resources for everyone to have one of each and every toy, so they’ll be expected to share and be exposed to a lot of turn-taking. Teach your little one how to share and take turns through the games you play together. This is even easier to learn if you have more than one child.

How to win and lose graciously. Your child is bound to come up against a few competitive games at preschool, so it’s really important that you allow them to lose every now and again. That way they can learn to accept it and recognise that nothing changes – you won’t love them any less and the world won’t end! They should also be taught that while winning is part of the game, the fun is really in the playing!

How to solve peer conflict. When we see our kids arguing or fighting with others, we’ll often step in to resolve the matter. But our kids can also learn to solve these problems without adult intervention. Of course, this won’t always be the case, but let your child and their siblings or cousins try to work things out once in a while so they’ll have an easier transition at preschool.

How to play within set rules. So long as you’re raising your kids with firm, clear, and consistent rules put in place to keep them safe, they shouldn’t have any problems adapting to preschool rules.

How to fail and try again. Failure is a tough lesson to get your head around, and even some of us adults struggle with it sometimes. Make sure your child knows that it’s okay to fail and that it isn’t a reflection of who they are, but an opportunity to learn. You can teach this by letting them see you fail and focusing on the positives. And when they fail at a task, offer them praise for trying and point out the lessons they’ve learnt in the process. This will help them tremendously throughout their lives.

A few simple skills they’ll also likely need:

Putting on their coat and shoes

Knowing their first and last name. It’s great if they know your name too.

Recognising their name in print.

Knowing how to use a glue stick.

Knowing how to use child-friendly scissors.

For some preschools and nurseries, knowing how to go to the toilet on their own is required.

How do I ready my toddler for preschool/nursery?

You probably won't know exactly how to do this until after your child starts at your chosen school but here's some handy general guidance.